NY NY - James Knox, 24, Warsaw, 9 Dec 1979

[Falling Down]

MSM report today:

Police re-introduce Wyoming County missing persons case, nearly 42 years later | WHEC.com

 

[HopeRains]

Publicly excluded on Namus:

 

[rylie113]

Okay I understand that the dates are off (doe found in '74), but I am SHOCKED that this doe is not James? Going from his 1975, heavier-set photo, I cannot believe this isn't the same person. The doe even went by the name James, and sometimes Leroy (name of company where James Knox last worked.) On the chance that the date of the doe's death has been mistaken, being a carnival worker would explain the distance between the two. Due to the date discrepancy, this doe is not on the rule-out list.

Doe's Namus Profile

 

[salamanderqueeftp]

bump

 

[Backhand]

I moved to Warsaw as an elementary student in ‘84 and had never heard of this story. It’s pretty interesting. There is a LOT of rural land in that area. Lots of woods and creeks and fields. If he decided to take his life in a remote area it wouldn’t surprise me if he was never found. If anyone has any questions about the village of Warsaw I’d be happy to answer them.

 

[Backhand]

Okay I understand that the dates are off (doe found in '74), but I am SHOCKED that this doe is not James? Going from his 1975, heavier-set photo, I cannot believe this isn't the same person. The doe even went by the name James, and sometimes Leroy (name of company where James Knox last worked.) On the chance that the date of the doe's death has been mistaken, being a carnival worker would explain the distance between the two. Due to the date discrepancy, this doe is not on the rule-out list.

Doe's Namus Profile

The deceased had hazel eyes and James had blue- but the resemblance is uncanny for sure.

 

[Sillybilly]

FWIW, post-mortem eye color can be different:

from Pig-mentation: postmortem iris color change in the eyes of Sus scrofa - PubMed

All isolated blue eyes in the experiment, at room temperature and higher, changed to brown/black within 48 h. The in situ blue eye, at room temperature, turned brown/black within 72 h. If iris color consistently changes postmortem in humans, then this taphonomic artifact must be incorporated into victim identification protocol, including disaster victim identification software, and autopsy reports to prevent inaccurate victim identification and inappropriate exclusion from the identification process.

By contrast, my son had dark brown eyes that were noted as blue in the autopsy report. This too can be explained:

from https://www.willed.com.au/guides/do-your-eyes-change-when-you-die/

Eye colour changes​

Some people notice their loved one’s eye colour change after death, likening it to a dark blue colour. This is because a hazy film covers the eyeball, giving the eyes a blue or grey-like appearance due to corneal opacity.

 

[Diane Redfern]

James Dean Knox was born on April 4, 1955 in Warsaw, NY; he has an older sister named Cynthia and a son named James Dean Knox III. Twenty four year old Knox was last seen on December 11, 1979 and his Grandmother (who saw him two days prior in her home in the southern part of Warsaw) waited ten days to report him as missing to the authorities. All of his clothes, possessions, and money was left behind.
I found very little information regarding this case on the internet, however this is the only instance where quite a few people from local (Warsaw, NY) Facebook groups reached out to me when I asked for more information, offering me their insight and even what they think may have happened to him. Per his best friend, Jimmy’s mother thinks that her son is in the witness protection program, however he feels that he fell in with the wrong crowd, began experiencing money issues and as a result wound up at the bottom of a well on an abandoned farm in nearby Java. Neither theory seems to have any merit to it.
Knox has blue eyes, dark blonde hair, is 5’11” tall, and weighed 150 pounds at the time of his disappearance; he was last seen wearing a red plaid jacket, blue jeans and black boots. He wore corrective lenses with plastic frames and was suffering from unknown health concerns, which he was apparently pretty upset over. Because of these ongoing issues he was on leave from his POE at the Leroy Machine Company.
Knox lived in the heart of Warsaw on Wyoming Street and frequently ate at a local pizzeria. Before his disappearance he served in the US Navy for roughly one month before being honorably discharged due to medical reasons on May 25, 1979.
Per WIVB both of Knox’s parents and his grandmother have passed away, and his sister still resides in Warsaw. As recently as 2021 New York State Police released a statement about Knox asking that anyone with information related to his disappearance come forward and contact Investigator John Neeley at 585-786-7244, referencing case #3029766. As of June 2024 no trace of Knox has ever been recovered.

Source: James Dean Knox.

James lived on 35 Wyoming Street; curiously, the Wyoming Veterans County Club is just 218 yards from his home. He served in the US Navy (less than a month), so may he go there that night? Perhaps someone there could provide more information.